Biomat USA, Two Other Plasma Centers Must Face Biometric Claims

Biomat USA, Talecris Plasma Resources and Interstate Blood Bank must face a class lawsuit alleging they collected and retained the fingerprints of plasma donors without their consent, a federal court ruled.

Plaintiffs Brian Vaughan, Jason Darnell, Febbie Minniefield and Adriel Vega alleged that plasma centers collected their biometric data in violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act and failed to destroy the data as required under the statute.

The centers argued that the lawsuit should be dismissed on a variety of grounds, including that the BIPA was preempted by federal regulations, that the donors gave their informed consent before ...